Words Are Not Enough
by Labrynth
Summary: Sometimes it takes more than words to break down walls.


Disclaimer: Not my characters. You know the drill. This kinda combines threads I've seen in other stories, but hopefully it takes it some place it hasn't been before. If that's possible. Lyrics belong to Bush, _Mouth_. Blessid Union of Souls, _I Wanna Be There_. And Bryan Adams,_ Rescue Me_. 

*******

Words Are Not Enough

  
"You know, even if you tried, there is no possible way you could be a more selfish person."

"Maybe not, but at least I don't go around following people, leaving a trail of drool behind myself."

"Don't worry, I won't make that mistake again. Ever."

Isabel watched him as he walked away, another retort on her tongue. She held back, knowing that the whole thing had already gotten out of hand. Again. It wasn't the first time, and she had the feeling it wouldn't be the last. Unless his threat that he never wanted to even look at her again was true. If that were the case, she honestly wasn't sure what she'd do.

*******

Escaping to the only place he knew he would be safe, Alex collapsed onto the ground. Fighting back the tears that threatened, he dropped his head into his hands. How many times he could do this, he wasn't sure. He just knew that it was getting old so old. There were just only so many times you could get kicked to the dirt before you'd had enough.

With a sigh, he drug out the bass, knowing it wasn't the best for the song he had chosen, but it was all he had handy. The darkness in his heart won over the pain he was feeling as he started

> _You gave me this  
Made me give  
Your silver grin  
Still sticking it in_

He always gave to her, only to get nothing in return. The words felt right, described how he felt. So well in fact, he didn't see her paused in the doorway. Didn't see the look of confusion that crossed her face.

> _You have soul machine  
Soul machine  
The longest kiss  
Peeling furniture days  
Drift madly to you  
Pollute my heart drain  
You have broken at me  
Broken me_

The confusion turned to anger. Anger that he obviously felt this way about her. Anger that he couldn't just accept who she was. Anger that that he wouldn't just kiss her and made her admit how much she cared.

> _All your mental armor drags me down  
Nothing hurts like your mouth_

Alex continued, how voice soft but strong with the words, nearly drown out by the bass in his hands. But the words were loud enough. Loud and clear. He couldn't deal with the reasons she kept her distance. She should have known he would never be able to handle it. Maybe guys really were all alike.

> _Your loaded smiles  
Pretty just desserts  
Wish it all for you  
So much it never hurts_

But he didn't wish on her, he realized. He just wanted her to get over it. Get over the whole alien thing, the whole human thing, whatever damn thing kept her from realizing that she could date, and she could be happy and it didn't have to be like Max and Liz. It didn't have to be something that was full of hurt and pain. Pain like he felt now.

> _You have soul machine  
Stone at me  
All your mental armor drags me down  
We can't breathe when you come around  
All your mental armor drags me down  
Nothing hurts like your mouth   
Mouth   
Mouth_

Her eyes narrowed at his back and she backed away silently, making her way towards the front door she had just let herself in. But not before she heard his last whispered words.

"Your Mouth"

*******

"How long do you plan on avoiding him?" Liz asked nonchalantly, seeing Isabel ready to bolt at the sight of Alex across the quad.

Startled at the other girl's voice, Isabel whirled, ready to confront the enemy. Or Liz. Whatever the case may be. 

"For as long as he continues to think that I want him around," she replied haughtily.

Liz looked at her skeptically. The temptation to be mean was strong, but she shoved it aside. Shaking her head slightly, she took in the sight of Isabel. The normally polished and poised girl looked both as if she was running for her life and as if she had gotten her heart ripped out and stomped on.

"I hate to be the one to break this to you Isabel," Liz started, knowing it would come out more bitter than she intended. "But he's not following you. He's not calling you. He's not going out of his way to find you. He's done Isabel. You've pushed him too far. Alex might be able to take a lot of crap, but even he has his limit. I think you finally pushed him to it."

She gaped, her mouth hanging open for a moment. Slowly she straightened herself. Looking at the smaller girl coolly, she smirked, "I don't know what you mean. And I don't like your implications."

With that, Isabel spun on her heel and stalked away. Liz looked after her for an instant, then shook her head and started across the quad. Alex should be in a similar mood.

*******

"Alex, I'm not going to do these any more!" Maria stomped her foot and glared at him.

Green eyes looked up from the bass in his hands, confusion written on his face.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" The tone of his voice told her she had caught him in his own little world again. He had done the songs so many times he could nearly do them in his sleep. Probably had done them in his sleep. Which left him time to drift into that place that was only his. Well, his and someone else's if he ever chose to share.

Exasperation colored her face and words. "Dammit Alex, I'm not going to do these 'I got burned and now I'm bitter and angry' or the 'I'd do anything if I could just have you back but you don't want me' songs. Don't you guys ever play anything upbeat? Anything even remotely happy."

"The songs are about life Maria," he said softly, "Life isn't happy. Remember?"

She grumbled, then looked to the other members of the band for help. They looked among themselves, then shrugged. No one dared to get into this.

"Fine. That's it. If you want to sit around and mope about her then do it. But don't expect me to feel sorry for you. And you had damn well better be over this by the time Friday rolls around. I won't have everyone leaving the party because you've depressed them all! Is that understood?"

He shrugged and unhooked the strap from the bass. Easing it to the ground, he headed out of the garage, confrontation not something he was in the mood for.

"Fine Maria. Whatever you say. Wouldn't want your band to be itself."

Alex was gone before she could think of anything else to say.

*******

> _Won't you let me catch your fall  
Won't you let me lend a hand  
Those lonely eyes have seen it all  
But love's too blind to understand_
> 
> _Cause you don't know what you have  
Till your everything is gone  
You need someone to show you how to live again_

The words flowed easily, mingling with the sound of the guitar. It might not be his best instrument, but it served the purpose. Then again, taking refuge here hadn't been the best of ideas either, but it was the only place he could think of to go that hadn't been touched by her. Then again, it had if only in words.

> _I wanna be there when you're feeling high  
I wanna be there when you wanna die  
I'm gonna light you fire  
Gonna feel your flame  
I wanna be there when you go insane  
I wanna be there when you're feeling down  
And I'll be there when your head is spinning round  
Gonna be your lover  
Gonna be your friend  
I wanna be there till the end_

The music room held the words and the tune, but Alex didn't seem to notice. Didn't notice much of anything except how he felt. Unlike Liz, he didn't have a penchant for words. He chose to express himself with music. Like he was doing now. Ok, so maybe he wasn't one of the best lyric writers in the world, but he was happy to borrow them for now.

> _You wouldn't know that I was there  
Cause I have been there all the time  
And if I had my way I'd hold you in my arms  
And leave this madness all behind_

Once again she found herself listening from the doorway. And once again she felt herself filled with emotion. But this time the emotion wasn't anger. This time it was something deeper. Something stronger. The feeling that she had lost someone who truly cared about her. The feeling that perhaps she had lost the one person who really did lover her no matter what.

>   
_Cause you got so much to give  
But you throw it all away  
And all you got to show for who you are is pain_
> 
> _And I've got so much to give  
If you'd only let me in  
I'm gonna take the time to show you I'm a friend  
You'll believe in love again_

Isabel almost believed almost thought it was possible. But then a flash of Max and Liz flared in her mind and she closed her eyes. So much pain and so much love. They seemed to always be entwined no matter what you did.

> _I wanna be there in the pouring rain  
I wanna be there when you call my name  
I'm gonna light your fire  
Gonna feel your flame  
I wanna be there when you go insane  
I wanna be there when I'm outta town  
And when your whole damn world is crashing down  
I'm gonna be your lover  
Gonna be your friend  
I wanna be there till the end  
Cause you don't know what you have  
Till your everything is gone  
You need someone to show you how to live again_

The lyrics hurt. She had heard the song a million times before, but it had never meant anything till now. Never struck something inside of her like this. Alex's voice carried with the notes and she shook her head. This couldn't happen. Would not happen. It would only lead to one of them getting hurt, and she didn't want either of them to be in pain. True, they might be hurting now, but it wouldn't last for long. They had no connection no emotional bonds. A few more days and it would be over.

> _I'm gonna be there in the morning  
I'm gonna be there in the night  
I'm gonna be there to make you strong when you're tired  
I'm gonna be there when you want me  
I'm gonna be there when you don't  
Gonna be your lover  
Gonna be your friend  
Gonna be there till the end_

The final words of the song hit her hard. There were no words that could be more untrue. She had pushed Alex away and he was done with her. Maybe at some point he would have been there no matter what, but she had ruined that. With a muffled sob, she turned and fled the music room.

Opening his eyes slowly, Alex let the music flow into him, soothing him. The final words of the song left his lips and he heard the sound. Turning, he frowned slightly as he only saw empty air. 

*******

The band continued to play, actually having an audience who seemed to be interested in them. Alex might have cared at one point, but the last two weeks had nearly killed him. Every time he saw her, he felt like either running away forever, or just grabbing her and kissing her. Both seemed cliché though, and Alex refused to do either of them. She had made it clear how she felt about him.

He just wished it didn't hurt so badly. Seeing her was always like a knife in his heart. His only consolation was that Max told him she hadn't been doing so well either. He wasn't sure if he should be happy that she was more upset than she appeared, or if he should hold her and tell her it would be ok. Alex wasn't sure it mattered either way in all honesty. Not sure that anything really mattered.

The last song of the set ended and he closed his eyes for a second. He normally didn't mind doing this, loved it in fact, but tonight he just wanted to be done. One more set and he could leave. Go home and soak in his misery alone amid the empty air of his room. Anything to get away from all the shiny, happy people.

Parting the stage, Maria and Alex walked down together, splitting as soon as their feet hit the floor. Casting a glance towards Alex, she saw him head for something to drink and sighed. Maybe no one else heard it, but she could easily pick up on the lack of, well anything, in his playing tonight. He was going through the notes, but that was it. She smiled as someone told her how good she sounded, but her mind was elsewhere. Slowly she worked her way through the crowd, just wanting some air. It had suddenly grown suffocating.

The door swung shut behind her and Maria leaned back against the wall. Ever since Alex had walked out of rehearsal a few days ago, everything had felt off about the band to her. She hated that feeling. It made it more like a chore and less like fun. Ubersuck. With a sigh, she moved to head back in, stopping as a hand fell on her shoulder.

"I have a request," the voice said softly as Maria turned to look at the person touching her.

*******

'_Just one more song_' he told himself. '_One more and I can go home._' The chords of the next to last song rang through the building and he almost breathed a sigh of relief. If he could just make it through one last song, he would be fine.

Maria turned to look at him, an impish smile on her face. Alex scowled, not sure he liked that look. He had seen it one time too many. Turning back to the mic, she smiled at the crowd. Spotting the person who had accosted her outside, she winked.

"Well, it seems we have our first request." Maria grinned. This was too good. "But apparently someone doesn't like my voice, because the request is partly that I don't sing." She took the good-natured laughing and ribbing from the crowd. "But be gentle... I'm not sure he's sung for an audience before."

Alex scowled at her back, so lost in worries that something had gone horribly wrong that he didn't realize Maria had turned and was looking at him. He blinked, still not registering. She stood there, smiling at him.

"Me?" he asked quietly, making her grin even more.

"You," she assured him. "You have a fan that wants to hear you sing."

"I do?" Alex blinked at her, the confusion on his face almost enough to send her into giggles.

Maria pointed and Alex followed her finger. To Isabel. His mouth formed a perfect O, and he shook his head to clear it. Isabel wanted to hear him sing?

As if on cue, she smiled at him. "Sing for me," she mouthed, making her way towards the make shift stage.

A million songs ran through his mind, but he couldn't settle on any. Lyrics and chords filtered through his brain, but he couldn't seem to grasp any of them long enough to decide if that's the one he wanted. Alex looked at her again, watched her as she took her place in front of the stage. '_I love her_,' he thought, _'I need her. Do I have to say the words?_' And it was done.

The bass was a poor choice to start the song with, but Maria knew what it was. Plugging in the keyboard that had been stored to the side of the stage, she picked up the tune. It didn't take but a few seconds for the others to follow.

His eyes solely on Isabel, Alex began his song.

> _Rescue me from the mire  
Whisper words of desire  
Rescue me - darling rescue me  
With your arms open wide  
Want you here by my side  
Come to me - darling rescue me  
When this world's closing in  
There's no need to pretend  
Set me free - Darling rescue me_
> 
> _I don't wanna let you go  
So I'm standing in your way  
I never needed anyone like I'm needing you today_
> 
> _Do I have to say the words?  
Do I have to tell the truth?  
Do I have to shout it out?  
Do I have to say a prayer?  
Must I prove to you how good we are together?  
Do I have to say the words?_
> 
> _Rescue me from despair  
Tell me you will be there  
Rescue me - darling rescue me_
> 
> _Every dream that we share  
Every cross that we bear  
Come to me - darling rescue me_

The final words of the song echoed in the nearly silent room. Everyone stood, stunned, eyes riveted to the stage. With a smile, Isabel reached a hand up to him, ignoring the final notes that were still coming. Grasping her hand with his own, he let her bring him down from the stage. 

Alex stood in front of her, his mind racing again. It was always so simple when the words were already written for you. So simple when you didn't have to think about them.

"I need you," he whispered, ready to bare his soul to her if that's what it took to make things right.

Isabel smiled, the words on her tongue. But it wasn't enough. Grabbing him, she hauled him to her, kissing him deeply. A shout went up from the crowd until the noise became nearly unbearable. They parted and she smiled at him.

"Ready to get out of here?" she asked as her hand slid into his.

"More ready than I've ever been," he replied as he began to pull her through the crowd. Just before they reached the door, he stopped, turning to look at her. "I was wrong. I love your mouth," he said then dropped a swift kiss on her lips.

With a grin she pushed him for the door, not more than a step behind.


End file.
